There is no better time of year to start thinking about getting healthier, but many people are put off because they see it as beyond them, or will take too long. The good news is that only 30 days of eating a naturally better diet can improve your health and guard against many of the leading chronic diseases that take the lives of millions worldwide each year. The less good news is that even one unhealthy meal can have a negative effect on hundreds of your genes.

The results of a study performed at Lund University in Sweden have shown the link between healthy food combinations and reduced disease risk. Their research focused on forty-four adults aged 50 to 75 who were fed a diet that included high antioxidant, low glycaemic sources including oily fish, barley, blueberries, almonds, cinnamon, vinegar and a high fibre wholegrain bread for a period of 4 weeks.

They were able to demonstrate the influence of food on our genome as a single unhealthy meal can negatively impact hundreds of individual genes. The usual suspects I am afraid: processed foods packed with sugar, refined carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats. These all lead to a continual state of inflammation throughout the body and metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer`s are all fuelled by the release of dangerous chemical messengers that are the result of inflammation.

Blood samples taken at the end of the test period showed that a natural diet exerted a powerful effect on all key biomarkers associated with inflammation, blood sugar and blood clotting. Results included:

Previous and extensive research has shown that eating a diet that was consumed during the course of human evolution is the best way to prevent and treat diabetes and heart disease. Basically that means you think natural and unprocessed so focusing on fruit, vegetables, nuts, lean meat and fish as these food sources regulate blood sugar and insulin response as they are low in fast-releasing carbohydrates, and eating a minimum of grain-based foods such as breakfast cereals and pasta.

So let’s hear it for the good news, which is that even small changes in diet over a short period of time like 30 days have been shown to significantly lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease and dementia. A diet of unprocessed foods can provide protection from disease and reverse the progression of serious illness and also seriously improve your quality of life.